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Apple Card Offers Benefits From Mastercard, Base APR Lowered to 12.99%

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Apple Card, Apple's credit card that began rolling out to some beta testers and members of the media this week, uses Mastercard for processing payments.

Since it uses Mastercard's network, the Apple Card is able to take advantage of benefits offered to Mastercard card holders, as pointed out by TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, one of the early testers.

apple-card-titanium-and-app-800x398.jpg

Mastercard's website offers a list of benefits available to Apple Card users, including fraud protection, identity theft protection, and a free ShopRunner membership that offers free two-day shipping from some websites.

Other benefits include Mastercard's travel discounts and upgrades, Mastercard's exclusive "special events," Mastercard golf offerings, and home rental discounts via Onefinestay, all of which are available to all Mastercard users.

Purchase protection and extended warranties offered by some credit cards as benefits are not available with the Apple Card. Apple Card's main benefit is its Daily Cash program, which offers between 1 and 3 percent cash back on purchases, with money sent out each day shortly after a purchase is made.

Also of interest to potential Apple Card customers is a new base annual percentage rate (APR). When Apple Card was announced, Apple said that it would offer an APR between 13.24 percent and 24.24 percent based on credit score. Following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last Wednesday, the APR for Apple card has changed.

As noted by The Verge's Nilay Patel, the base APR for purchases is now 12.99%, while the maximum APR is 23.99%.

Btw, the lowest APR for Apple Card is 12.99 percent after Fed rate cut, seeing a few stories quoting a higher rate. But I just signed up and it is indeed 12.99. pic.twitter.com/mYbDpXskUw - nilay patel (@reckless) August 6, 2019
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For those who are applying to Apple Card and who may have frozen their credit, Goldman Sachs handles card approvals and uses TransUnion for credit checks. You'll need to unfreeze your TransUnion credit to be approved for Apple Card.

Apple Card customers should be aware that the Apple Card must be managed using an iPhone or iPad as there is no web component to the card.

applecardinteresttool-800x634.jpg

A random selection of people who signed up to be notified about Apple Card are being invited to sign up for the Apple Card today, with a full rollout coming later this month. For more on how Apple Card works, make sure to check out our Apple Card guide.

Article Link: Apple Card Offers Benefits From Mastercard, Base APR Lowered to 12.99%
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/06/apple-card-benefits-and-lower-apr/
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Good information. But I am struggling to see what's unique here. Applecard gives the same access as any MasterCard? It does NOT offer extended warranties and purchase protection. The APR is not extraordinarily low in today's environment and the account will be closed if the user ever stops using an iPhone or iPad?
 
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So you have to have an iPad or iPhone to have this card? Just having an Apple computer isn't good enough?
 
I'll pass, didn't originally like how they make this sound like it's a product such as an IOS update. The fact they treat "credit" as a must have rush decision just puts me off. Spent to much time already making sure I have good credit. I like Apple products but this one just is a no no. Beta testing a credit card?? Come on now.. just give them out to all those so called "media" members on youtube like they always do so they can tell kids you absolutely have to have this.
 
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Stella said:
So you have to have an iPad or iPhone to have this card? Just having an Apple computer isn't good enough?
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Is there any points accrual for rewards? If so, is there a sign-up bonus? Is the only real draw that it's "more secure" or "made by Apple"?
 
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12.9 to 23.9% ?!?! Ouch. I have several MC & VISA cards - they range from 6.9 on the low end to 10.9 for the high. Gonna really have to think about whether this one is worth it.
 
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mtneer said:
Good information. But I am struggling to see what's unique here. Applecard gives the same access as any MasterCard? It does NOT offer extended warranties and purchase protection. The APR is not extraordinarily low in today's environment and the account will be closed if the user ever stops using an iPhone or iPad?
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How many times are people going to rehash the same argument about the interest rate? No, it's not the best interest. You can read about the features not found in other cards here: https://www.apple.com/apple-card/

Whether those features actually benefit you is subjective.
 
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mtneer said:
Good information. But I am struggling to see what's unique here. Applecard gives the same access as any MasterCard? It does NOT offer extended warranties and purchase protection. The APR is not extraordinarily low in today's environment and the account will be closed if the user ever stops using an iPhone or iPad?
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What's unique is how simple and frictionless it is to sign up, track purchases, and get rewards. That's what Apple is hoping will draw in customers.
 
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mytdave said:
12.9 to 23.9% ?!?! Ouch. I have several MC & VISA cards - they range from 6.9 on the low end to 10.9 for the high. Gonna really have to think about whether this one is worth it.
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jaymc said:
12.99% about 6% too high. Stay with NavyFCU Visa.
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This is what you get if you want cashback, points, rewards and warranties and all that stuff. Got to pay for it somewhere.

https://www.navyfederal.org/loans-cards/credit-cards/
The lowest Navy FCU cashback card is 11.90%. Cards with absolutely no rewards and points go down to 8.24%, not 7% as alleged.
 
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jclo said:
What's unique is how simple and frictionless it is to sign up, track purchases, and get rewards. That's what Apple is hoping will draw in customers.
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Yeah, but it’s just as easy with, say, a Chase Unlimited Signature card is. Plus, the Chase card is 1.5% back on EVERYTHING. Actually, each month, they have a list of vendors that will get you an even higher cash back or discount.
 
MacRumors said:
For those who are applying to Apple Card and who may have frozen their credit, Goldman Sachs handles card approvals and uses TransUnion for credit checks. You'll need to unfreeze your TransUnion credit to be approved for Apple Card.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this info! It's very useful to me.
 
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Stridder44 said:
Do you have a source for that "nope"? Not saying you're wrong, but something to back up your statement would be nice.
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No provision for it in the terms and conditions. Other cards have terms that say authorized users are permitted at the bank's discretion, the accountholder is solely liable for all charges by authorized users, etc.
 
I don't need it, but I kinda want it. The UI alone will help people understand their spending more. I would like to see that applied to other credit cards.
 
No extended warranty, of course. Any Citi card is significantly better, extending your AppleCare out to 5 years if you pay for it, or giving you free AppleCare (1+2). You'd have to be crazy to not purchase Apple products with a Citi card.
 
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